Or are people who actually work for the studios usually just condescending jerks to regular forum members when they newly sign up to a place?

in some of the places i visit, i've found the people with hollywood connections, that ARE proven and known, usually tend to be very confrontational and sometimes insulting toward different viewpoints than theirs, and it usually doesn't take much to set 'em off either.

Other times, users appear only in one thread and don't post elsewhere, and then vanish once that movie or tv show is gone, not really hiding their tracks very well, leaving only a mystery as to why they even bothered.

this is one thing andrew and i tend to agree on (and it feels weird doing so ;o)) .... studio plants, I feel, ARE very real. Although when they arn't nice and supportive and ignoring of stuff they feel that goes against what they are there trying to promote, i sometimes wonder what the studio gets out of it if they cause a disruptive promotion on the forums end?

to me, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even if the connection to hollywood is only suspected, not proven..and i have no doubt official people just browse forums all the time without folks even knowing too. hello peter and kevin, just in case ;o).

Or are people who actually work for the studios usually just condescending jerks to regular forum members when they newly sign up to a place?

in some of the places i visit, i've found the people with hollywood connections, that ARE proven and known, usually tend to be very confrontational and sometimes insulting toward different viewpoints than theirs, and it usually doesn't take much to set 'em off either.

Other times, users appear only in one thread and don't post elsewhere, and then vanish once that movie or tv show is gone, not really hiding their tracks very well, leaving only a mystery as to why they even bothered.

this is one thing andrew and i tend to agree on (and it feels weird doing so ;o)) .... studio plants, I feel, ARE very real. Although when they arn't nice and supportive and ignoring of stuff they feel that goes against what they are there trying to promote, i sometimes wonder what the studio gets out of it if they cause a disruptive promotion on the forums end?

to me, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, even if the connection to hollywood is only suspected, not proven..and i have no doubt official people just browse forums all the time without folks even knowing too. hello peter and kevin, just in case ;o).

Of course they're real. Paramount even got in trouble for it a while back. Other studios as well.

Now, there's a couple of different kinds of "plants" I've seen on the Drome.

The first and most obvious are the ones you describe... the studio plants. I mean, if you encounter a plant here, you're not talking to a producer, or a writer, or anyone really in the production office. What you're looking at is Paramount paying a 3rd party social media company who specializes in these kind of things, seeds members to boards/Facebook pages/Twitter pages of the thing they're trying to promote to sing its praises, drown out naysayers, and try and convince people on the fence that it's the best thing ever. If they're throwing millions of dollars of their marketing budget around, why wouldn't they? And of course, they vanish as soon as there's no further point in promoting the thing that they are.

The second -- and these aren't quite PLANTS, per se -- are a few higher-ups at Nick and IDW (I even know one really clever one in our ranks from Mirage! no, not Kevin or Peter, though I believe Peter does read from time to time) that are masquerading as normal board members here. Mostly they're just participating as one of us, not up to any secret agenda, probably just not wanting to be spoken to any differently than if they were just a normal fan. Still, they do sometimes break character. There is a couple, however, that are definitely here to primarily try to overly put over the project(s) they're pretty biasedly attached to in some innocuous and some not so innocuous ways.

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 12:35 PM

I just find it odd that out of the ones i know who work for the studios, and the others that are suspected, they all have the same type of condescending 'better than thow' attitude. some even go so far as to try and discredit and confuse you :). and all the posts eventually read alike with a VERY positive hollywood tilt.

any links to the paramount stuff?

i'd be interested in that :)

Katie

05-03-2017, 02:09 PM

Curious....

Would your opinion be that most every "non plant" person share the same opinion about a movie and that's how you spot the "plant"?

I'm trying to find the motivation here. I was accused of being a "plant" because I held a different opinion from the majority. Also, how do you distinguish a new member who comes and joins because of interest in a new movie or show from a "plant"?

But if they only show up in 2014 or 2016 and only talked Platinum Dunes TMNT, well... draw your own conclusions.

But it's walking like a duck and quacking like a duck.

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 02:19 PM

It's all in how they interact that gets my curiosity peaked.

there are certain things i look for, mostly signs that are given from other people that I KNOW for a fact work for a studio and all reply in the same combative way. and it's remarkable how they ALL seem to have the same reply mindset of discredit, confuse, and crowd organize against opinions they don't like.

of course, the person could just be a little whacky....

in that case, I look at post count. post history.....how many areas of the forum they visit.

I'm usually not very good at getting confirmations on my theories. so i tend to keep those type of opinions to myself.

but it is interesting to speculate via messaging with more knowledgeable folks ;o).

DestronMirage22

05-03-2017, 02:19 PM

Studios will do anything to try to sway peoples opinions in their favor, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to actually have plants.

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 02:22 PM

Studios will do anything to try to sway peoples opinions in their favor, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to actually have plants.

especially these d ays when emotions run supreme. easier to change ones opinion just by causing a little confusion, i guess.

plastroncafe

05-03-2017, 02:26 PM

Yeah, aside from just generating buzz by getting people to talk about things, I don't really see "plants" as having all that much effect.

I mean....no amount of good buzz is going to make me like a thing if I just don't like it.

Then again, this is a fandom thing we're talking about, where not liking a thing....or worse yet liking a thing, is enough to get a person death threats.

sdp

05-03-2017, 02:45 PM

Of course, not only studio plants but product plants, a nice portion of the reviews on amazon, youtube, yelp etc are not "real". It's really hard to tell them apart too.

snake

05-03-2017, 03:08 PM

Of course, I am one. Nick hired me back in 2013.

Candy Kappa

05-03-2017, 03:16 PM

I'm not saying I sustain on photosynthesis, but if I did, I'd never tell you.

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 03:23 PM

I'm not saying I sustain on photosynthesis, but if I did, I'd never tell you.

now that is how you do it.

besides, it'd probably be a breach of contract if you did :)

Andrew NDB

05-03-2017, 03:38 PM

It's been going on since the earliest days of things like AICN. Happened with Highlander on the Highlander forums, too. Very tight knit, familial group there... suddenly Highlander: The Source is about to come out on DVD (it went straight to DVD) around 2007, BOOM, 100 new users join all talking about how great the movie is, tag-teaming members that'd been there for years about how dumb they were and high-fiving each other. Then a month later, all gone. Every last one of them.

Nobody likes Highlander: The Source. Nobody.

PLANTS!

I'm trying to find the motivation here. I was accused of being a "plant"

Your join date kind of makes you immune from that accusation.

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 03:42 PM

It's been going on since the earliest days of things like AICN. Happened with Highlander on the Highlander forums, too. Very tight knit, familial group there... suddenly Highlander: The Source is about to come out on DVD (it went straight to DVD) around 2007, BOOM, 100 new users join all talking about how great the movie is, tag-teaming members that'd been there for years about how dumb they were and high-fiving each other. Then a month later, all gone. Every last one of them.

Nobody likes Highlander: The Source. Nobody.

PLANTS!

that's exactly the type of mo some people i'm curious about use when they find an opinion they don't like.

thankfully, these days people get tired of that type of attitude real quick and are starting to pick up on it and firing back at it, and the person in question is getting a little less brazen then they used to be. and he doesn't engage you when you fire back, just kind of lays low until the fire passes, and then when you have your guard down, pounces back with a 'your opinion doesn't matter, you dumb son of a gun'... attack and sees who bites to join with him in his little crusade.

the fact that he gets away with alot also tells me either the mods know, and give lee way, or just steer clear.

plastroncafe

05-03-2017, 03:53 PM

Your join date kind of makes you immune from that accusation.

That's exactly what she wants you to think!
http://slatestarcodex.com/blog_images/moody.png

Autbot_Benz

05-03-2017, 03:57 PM

It may be just me but I still think Tigerclaw is a plant that guy shills for anything.

Andrew NDB

05-03-2017, 04:32 PM

yiFqgaSPGRI

Katie

05-03-2017, 05:52 PM

Your join date kind of makes you immune from that accusation.

Yet I was still called one...and was accused of being paid by a studio to speak positively...so....it was the straw that broke my ever wanting to venture into the TMNT sectons here and made me angry enough to post some sh!tty attacks. And I had to leave all together for awhile because I realized I was letting the internet bother me.

I just liked the movie I liked. I don't get wrapped up in studios this and directors that and this one is the lead actor. :shrug:

That's why I wondered if the prevailing theory was that all true fans of a thing (or cinema buffs or whatever) would share the same opinion and all else were dirty "plants".

Vegita-San

05-03-2017, 06:04 PM

to me, the biggest clue is how they treat people with opposing ideas.

if they mostly treat people with respect, and i see that over a few weeks or longer, the plant theory goes out the window. if they call people trolls, or other names for having differing opinions, the plant theory goes up :)

TurtleWA

05-03-2017, 06:17 PM

Curious....

Would your opinion be that most every "non plant" person share the same opinion about a movie and that's how you spot the "plant"?

I'm trying to find the motivation here. I was accused of being a "plant" because I held a different opinion from the majority. Also, how do you distinguish a new member who comes and joins because of interest in a new movie or show from a "plant"?

Just curious.

It would be an interesting twist to the story if you are the Katie that works for Mirage and handles the shipping. Sorry about you being accused, it is not fun being singled out.

Of course, I am one. Nick hired me back in 2013.

I knew it! :)

IndigoErth

05-03-2017, 08:02 PM

When I was doing some online work for a while that paid small amounts for various kinds of tasks (but it added up), I certainly saw tasks available for posting fake reviews to various sites. I never did any of those (no way could I do that and not feel wrong about it), nor did I see any for movies, but seeing first hand that fake product reviews are a real thing, it would not surprise me at all if film companies do very similar where marketing is concerned.

Of course, I am one. Nick hired me back in 2013.
Wonder when their court case is for their illegal child labor. lol

ProactiveMan

05-03-2017, 08:06 PM

http://i.imgur.com/CyDT6Np.jpg

I'm kidding of course. Or am I?

I know that this kind of astroturfing goes on, and it's a shame because it gives credence to the sooky-pies who can't comprehend the concept of alternate viewpoints outside the framework of paid sponsorship.

I haven't explicitly been accused of being a plant, but I bowed out of the PD section when people started hassling me about 'defending hacks' or something like that.

MsMarvelDuckie

05-03-2017, 08:33 PM

Yeah, I find that the attitude of screaming "PLANT!" at anyone who happens to like a certain thing just gets very tiresome, very quickly. Like, what- are we ALL supposed to despise something because the majority of "true fans" think it's crap? PUH-LEEEAZE!

IndigoErth

05-03-2017, 08:48 PM

It's like the Drome's version of shouting "fake news!" :trazz:

MsMarvelDuckie

05-03-2017, 09:35 PM

Or crying wolf. That was sort of my point.

sdp

05-03-2017, 09:42 PM

I often defended the PD TMNT films and was never called a plant.

I think it really is a problem, I can actually confirm that a company I worked for used the social media managers to talk highly about the company on their facebook page and youtube channel. I've never seen the "he's a plant" defense be used extensively, so I don't think it's being overused, it's likely underused.

Wildcat

05-03-2017, 11:03 PM

Ha, so there's a war on negativity and if you don't agree [thing] sucks you're probably a studio plant.

To answer the question I do not think studios care enough to send plants to post on fans sites. There's too many and typically only have a limited amount of users to interact with. Im sure they read through sites though. Everyone does that.

Only places I can see plants posting regularly are Facebook pages or YouTube. Even then there's an ocean of comments so I doubt they do it as much as you like to think.

Andrew NDB

05-03-2017, 11:14 PM

To answer the question I do not think studios care enough to send plants to post on fans sites. There's too many

What, this and... Michele Ivey's forum, barring stuff like Facebook pages and the like? The Technodrome Forums are it.

The PLANTS are very real. Were very real. If there's a big boxset release of PD 1&2 or something, maybe we'll see a few again.

Wildcat

05-03-2017, 11:38 PM

What, this and... Michele Ivey's forum, barring stuff like Facebook pages and the like? The Technodrome Forums are it.

The PLANTS are very real. Were very real. If there's a big boxset release of PD 1&2 or something, maybe we'll see a few again.I meant in general not just the TMNT community but I said actually post.

Why would they care enough to get into it with a site that only has a limited amount of fans? We're not the entire turtles fan base, not even close. Every fan site usually only has a handful of regular users like here. They must know it's a waste of time.

People who come and go are probably just passing by who lose interest in a message board or only use it for news. I read through forums I never post in. However if they try to rile people up and then leave they're trolls. That happens everywhere.

Andrew NDB

05-03-2017, 11:54 PM

They must know it's a waste of time.

You and I know that. How would they? And if you're a third party company tasked with just flooding the internets with glowing praise... how much are you really going to vet?

Wildcat

05-04-2017, 12:14 AM

You and I know that. How would they? And if you're a third party company tasked with just flooding the internets with glowing praise... how much are you really going to vet?How would they know? It's a given fan sites are just a small sample of a fan base. Nobody walks into a store and thinks the entire population shops there.

That's my point though. Do you really think studios care enough to hire 3rd parties to specifically roam certain websites, no matter how insignificant, just to praise things and tell message board members they're wrong? Imo that sounds very silly. It's a waste of time and money.

I can see some doing that of thier own choosing just for the heck of it and some companies probably do post a "positive comment" now and then but I don't think it's some conspiracy the way you're implying.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 04:52 AM

hmm..admitting it's done on some places, but defensive about others. sounds awful planty to me ;o).

I personally would like to see that article about paramount getting in trouble for it myself.

As for the war on negativity.... a Thread going along perfectly civil got closed and i got called a troll in a pot shot simply because someone didn't like what was being said. IIRC. it kind of proved my point perfectly :)

Ninjinister

05-04-2017, 05:20 AM

While I've read tales of them before, allegedly confirmed, I have never seen the evidence of having encountered them myself.

That said, whenever I've seen someone accuse of being a shill, it's because that person can't back up their statements and have been thoroughly shut down by someone with mounds of evidence (such as in a scientific or historic discussion). It's more or less shorthand for losing an argument and childishly lashing out.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 06:19 AM

I try to keep my suspicions to myself personally, unless the person is being a real jerk, then i don't mind poking the bear a little.

i don't think there are ALOT of them, lurking around every corner, but a few plants per board wouldn't seem out of the question.

officially or otherwise. some people could just be studio hopefuls, or actually work at the studio and just be regular jerks :).

BubblyShell22

05-04-2017, 06:26 AM

Nah, I don't think so. Those people probably left because there wasn't anything else to talk about regarding the movie and there is no news of a third one. Some people did get out of hand with differing opinions but that doesn't mean they were working for the studios and were brought here to praise the movie. People can generally like something and not see flaws in it at times.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 06:32 AM

One person i know was totally normal, just an average fan.

then i know he got a job helping out the studio. suddenly his replies totally changed, at least on PUBLIC forums.... to be deceitful, insulting, and a little paranoid. in private communication, he all but stopped engaging me at all. but in public, the tone of post totally changed from fan, to foe pretty quickly.

almost cult like ;o)..

ProactiveMan

05-04-2017, 08:44 AM

I'm starting to wish I were a plant. I could use some of those fat marketing dollars.

You know those stories of Japanese soldiers in the pacific who still thought the war was going on in the 60s? What if there are deep cover studio plants who don't know that Next Mutation is off the air? Some guy in a yurt somewhere who wanted to make a few bucks shilling; doesn't get American TV in the tundra, but has a spotty 3G connection on his phone. Saban forgot that they hired him a long time ago, but he is sure that if he keeps going in good faith, his efforts will be rewarded.

CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

05-04-2017, 09:13 AM

Venus de Milo was an underrated character! She deserved better!

*checks bank account*

Krutch

05-04-2017, 09:20 AM

Plants exist for sure, but I'd be willing to bed 9/10 accused "plants" are actually just new fans looking for somewhere to share their excitement.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 09:42 AM

Plants exist for sure, but I'd be willing to bed 9/10 accused "plants" are actually just new fans looking for somewhere to share their excitement.

Maybe 1/10. 2/10, at most. The ones that fit the M.O., leading up to the release of PD 1 and PD 2 and the blu-ray releases.

CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

05-04-2017, 09:50 AM

I can name one obvious plant right off the bat, right here. Dude was laughable.

I'm sure Andrew can name a few I won't argue with as well.

AquaParade

05-04-2017, 10:15 AM

As a small aside, I would love to know which Mirage members are here. I can completely understand wanting to remain anonymous, but it sure would be cool to know and/or interact with them/ask questions.

The detail's on Early Mirage studios is so fascinating to me. If it were up to me, there'd be a turtle documentary covering just that.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 10:17 AM

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=12814

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=10962

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=11160

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=4601

PLANT...?

CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

05-04-2017, 10:18 AM

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=12814

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=10962

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=11160

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=4601

PLANT...?

Totally forgot about those first three.

:tlol: Dammit, Andrew! :tlol:

You also forgot the backwards spelling guy.

FredWolfLeonardo

05-04-2017, 10:21 AM

What about samxsteal or whatever his name was. I vaguely remember a user with that name promoting one of the PD films.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 10:25 AM

You also forgot the backwards spelling guy.

Who?

What about samxsteal or whatever his name was. I vaguely remember a user with that name promoting one of the PD films.

More than likely, but I can't say 100%.

plastroncafe

05-04-2017, 10:26 AM

It's true, I am a plant.
But...for an organization too secret to know.

TheSkeletonMan939

05-04-2017, 10:29 AM

If samxsteal was a plant then he was the most dogged employee I have ever seen. He was fully committed to convincing us that the PD movies were good.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 10:31 AM

Found some others:

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=11817

PLANT!

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=10985

PLANT!

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=11859

PLANT!

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=13286

PLANT!

Interesting fact I'm seeing: most/all of the PLANTS are friends with one another in their profile, as if to blend in better and appear that they know other people... like some kind of plant hivemind or collective. Like, you can click on DioLeo451's profile, look at his Friends, and hop around from friend to friend and it's like a who's who of plants.

He was the first one who came to mind. Dude was plantier than Poison Ivy and Dr Jason Woodrue's lovechild.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 10:45 AM

He was the first one who came to mind. Dude was plantier than Poison Ivy and Dr Jason Woodrue's lovechild.

I was 100% convinced after about 3 posts of his.

Looking through those old threads, I found an old gem, too (posted by a plant, of course):

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CkJK0dFVEAQdxj9.jpg:small

Vicky82

05-04-2017, 10:55 AM

One guy I always though was a plant/troll but his job was to bash Michael Bay

That Trick and Treater guy. It felt like that he was pretending to be a fan. he joins in 2013 and the only thing he did was bash Michael Bay and his movies in the movie thread. He hasn't been seen since the 2016 movie discussion died down.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a Transformer movie forum at the moment pretending to be a fan and doing the same thing. It felt like he had personnel vendetta against Bay.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 11:06 AM

all these plants who do nothing but love. yet, i thought the studios didn't have time for forums ;o)

all they'd really have to do is hire one company and they source it out to about 15 people. some might actually be fans. these are probably the ones who tend to be a bit jerkier than others cause they take it personally.

i guess there are no guidelines on HOW plants promote things. just promote it. if you piss everyone off while doing it, not our problem so long as they go see it :)

CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

05-04-2017, 11:08 AM

One guy I always though was a plant/troll but his job was to bash Michael Bay

That Trick and Treater guy. It felt like that he was pretending to be a fan. he joins in 2013 and the only thing he did was bash Michael Bay and his movies in the movie thread. He hasn't been seen since the 2016 movie discussion died down.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a Transformer movie forum at the moment pretending to be a fan and doing the same thing. It felt like he had personnel vendetta against Bay.

That guy confuses me, too. Did he ever contribute to anything other than PD TMNT discussions?

Did Michael Bay steal his girlfriend or something? Dude was on a crusade... :tlol:

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 11:08 AM

all these plants who do nothing but love. yet, i thought the studios didn't have time for forums ;o)

all they'd really have to do is hire one company and they source it out to about 15 people.

That's exactly what they do.

Krutch

05-04-2017, 11:11 AM

Maybe 1/10. 2/10, at most. The ones that fit the M.O., leading up to the release of PD 1 and PD 2 and the blu-ray releases.
http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=12814

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=10962

PLANT.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/member.php?u=11160

PLANT.

But are the decidedly a plant solely on the content of their posts and join date? Or is there any actual concrete evidence to go by?

I only ask because I remember when I was hyped for Superman Returns I joined a Superman forum. I stuck to the Superman Returns section, and posted exclusively about the movie. I was constantly attacked with plant accusations. I stuck around for about 3 months, around the time the movie came out, then I bounced. Every bit of praise I'd give was immediately rejected and disregarded. There was no point in staying when no one was willing to engage in discussion.

I imagine this is the case with these forums, as well as Power Rangers or GI Joe forums... basically any nostalgic property that can get old fans excited or even new ones who genuinely like what they see. When they're only hopping aboard when a shiny new movie comes out, people immediately want to stake their claim that they aren't "real fans."

Again, I am in full belief plants exist, I just don't believe it's as common as you think it is. And based on my own experience, even less way of telling who's an actual plant or not.

Autbot_Benz

05-04-2017, 11:11 AM

One guy I always though was a plant/troll but his job was to bash Michael Bay

That Trick and Treater guy. It felt like that he was pretending to be a fan. he joins in 2013 and the only thing he did was bash Michael Bay and his movies in the movie thread. He hasn't been seen since the 2016 movie discussion died down.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's in a Transformer movie forum at the moment pretending to be a fan and doing the same thing. It felt like he had personnel vendetta against Bay.

Yes 100x Yess That guy has to be a Plant I noticed after the OOTS discussion finally died he just stopped posting . He never posted anywhere only in the bayturtles section. He was a prick too.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 11:14 AM

i've found many times people who work for the studio, or studio hirees tend to be immediate jerks, if their studio relations are hidden from view.

to me, this is a very early on clue. especially if they tend to be combative toward anything negative.

why would a studio hire a plant to bash their own creative director?

doesn't make much sense.

unless, of course, competitive studios hire 'anti plants'.

now there is a theory . i could finally find a job worthy of me ;o)

Vicky82

05-04-2017, 11:14 AM

That guy confuses me, too. Did he ever contribute to anything other than PD TMNT discussions?

Did Michael Bay steal his girlfriend or something? Dude was on a crusade... :tlol:

I never saw him in any other threads, only the movie thread.

TheSkeletonMan939

05-04-2017, 11:19 AM

Wait, so you guys are theorizing that Trick-or-Treater was controlled opposition? :tlol:

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 11:27 AM

Wait, so you guys are theorizing that Trick-or-Treater was controlled opposition? :tlol:

That's a little mind-blowing at a basic board level ("the Technodrome... where legitimate fans are caught in a purgatory where they must decipher between plants and Anti-Plants!"), I kind of doubt it, but on paper it seems plausible.

I mean, think about it. If your movie debuted one weekend, and TMNT OOTS is about to debut the following weekend... what if you could throw $10,000 and fill the internet with bad reviews and trash talk about TMNT OOTS to make sure your movie continues to do well in weekend #2?

Maybe? I don't know. I don't think that's that guy is, though.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 11:30 AM

That's a little mind-blowing at a basic board level ("the Technodrome... where legitimate fans are caught in a purgatory where they must decipher between plants and Anti-Plants!"), I kind of doubt it, but on paper it seems plausible.

I mean, think about it. If your movie debuted one weekend, and TMNT OOTS is about to debut the following weekend... what if you could throw $10,000 and fill the internet with bad reviews and trash talk about TMNT OOTS to make sure your movie continues to do well in weekend #2?

Maybe? I don't know.

as far as the theory goes,
i really hope not.

but i would NOT put it past studios to think there is a need for such a thing.

people are generally rather negative these days MOSTLY, so i doubt there would be as much a need for that as generating positive reviews.

but it would be another fun conspiracy to think about :)

sdp

05-04-2017, 11:30 AM

I'm sure there's many new users that are called plants that aren't but it's not only that, in bigger communities some companies approach respected users to talk about their product in exchange of compensation.

I think the PDs forum was just full of younger kids excited for the movie though, A few plants? maybe but not everyone. The movie actually had a positive response before it ever premiered based on the trailers.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 01:19 PM

but i would NOT put it past studios to think there is a need for such a thing.

I bet certain movies, certain studios do stoop to that. We do know that there are marketing executives who get up every day, and the entirety of their job is to see how to maximize profit/exposure for movies in a changing world, online and off.

snake

05-04-2017, 01:22 PM

It's a great idea if done well too. Why WOULDN'T you do it?

TheSkeletonMan939

05-04-2017, 02:37 PM

The thing I don't get is, when it comes to a message board like this with an explicit focus on the TMNT: who do they think they're kidding? It makes sense to perform a "plant" campaign on a social media website, because then maybe you can convince a few casuals to check out the new BayTurtles movie, but on a dedicated forum like this? Many people here have established in their minds what they like and don't like about the TMNT franchise, and they're not going to change their attitudes because some newbies are giving heaps of praise to the new movie. For social media, I think this sort of simulated popularity works great because of things like hashtags and upvotes. On a message board it loses its effectiveness because the material here is judged on its content, not some sort of metric.

Andrew NDB

05-04-2017, 02:39 PM

The thing I don't get is, when it comes to a message board like this with an explicit focus on the TMNT: who do they think they're kidding? It makes sense to perform a "plant" campaign on a social media website, because then maybe you can convince a few casuals to check out the new BayTurtles movie, but on a dedicated forum like this? Many people here have established in their minds what they like and don't like about the TMNT franchise, and they're not going to change their attitudes

They don't know that. But it boils down to the old thing about... if you hear something once, you don't pay attention. You hear it twice, it starts to sink it. You hear it five times, from five different people... you subsonsciously begin to take it as fact.

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 02:41 PM

The thing I don't get is, when it comes to a message board like this with an explicit focus on the TMNT: who do they think they're kidding? It makes sense to perform a "plant" campaign on a social media website, because then maybe you can convince a few casuals to check out the new BayTurtles movie, but on a dedicated forum like this? Many people here have established in their minds what they like and don't like about the TMNT franchise, and they're not going to change their attitudes because some newbies are giving heaps of praise to the new movie. For social media, I think this sort of simulated popularity works great because of things like hashtags and upvotes. On a message board it loses its effectiveness because the material here is judged on its content, not some sort of metric.

i wish we could like posts on here :).

studios generally arn't very smart though. they think what works one place will work elsewhere. what i don't get is, why be nasty about it? most people play positive until you say something they don't like then get nasty positive. at least with people i think of being studio plants :)

sdp

05-04-2017, 03:00 PM

All it takes for one "influencer" or voice of a social group to repeat what a shill said and the hive sheep mentality of the internet will interpret it as fact.

I remember when I defended the idea of TMNT 2014. I don't think I was in denial, I just liked a lot of what I saw.

When those sculptures showing their designs were leaked, I was really impressed. Sure, they're not my ideal tmnt designs but they're inspired. I actually like the idea of the TMNT wearing pieces of clothing and sunglasses. It reminded me of Baron's pitch to the 1990 movie sequel. Heck, even the first trailer gave me some hope with it's quick cuts of Leo battling Foot in a dark subway and a sword-loaded Raphael confronting a menacing looking Shredder.

Then the turtles made fart jokes and absorbed bullets.

plastroncafe

05-04-2017, 03:17 PM

All it takes for one "influencer" or voice of a social group to repeat what a shill said and the hive sheep mentality of the internet will interpret it as fact.

*cough*plants*cough*

Vegita-San

05-04-2017, 04:10 PM

All it takes for one "influencer" or voice of a social group to repeat what a shill said and the hive sheep mentality of the internet will interpret it as fact.

thankfully, with one person i'm starting to think is a plant, people are starting to catch on to his little angry positivity act, and either ignoring him, or starting to fire back at him.

so, I hope the 'alpha male' influencer days are starting to fade away.

there was a time when it was only me daring to be a dissenter of it all ;o)

ProactiveMan

05-06-2017, 08:41 AM

All it takes for one "influencer" or voice of a social group to repeat what a shill said and the hive sheep mentality of the internet will interpret it as fact.

Sheep are building hives now? The horror!

snake

05-06-2017, 10:45 AM

The plants are all gone by now. They got their paycheck. If you want more proof just check how the day the turtles were revealed in that toy fair pic was the most active day in drome history for awhile. TONS of new users poured onto the forums.

Which leads me to another conclusion- that "leak" was not a leak.

plastroncafe

05-06-2017, 11:03 AM

so, I hope the 'alpha male' influencer days are starting to fade away.

I'm all for alpha-male anything to get gone, we're always going to have 'mavens.'

The Tipping Point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tipping_Point)

Autbot_Benz

05-06-2017, 11:03 AM

The plants are all gone by now. They got their paycheck. If you want more proof just check how the day the turtles were revealed in that toy fair pic was the most active day in drome history for awhile. TONS of new users poured onto the forums.

Which leads me to another conclusion- that "leak" was not a leak.

but but Tigerclaw is still here :lol:

snake

05-06-2017, 11:44 AM

I'm all for alpha-male anything to get gone, we're always going to have 'mavens.'

The Tipping Point (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tipping_Point)

I'm triggered

Vegita-San

05-06-2017, 11:55 AM

but but Tigerclaw is still here :lol:

i guess it makes sense for a studio head to leave at least ONE around after the big promotion of a thing is done to see how reactions go :).

also useful to see if the campaign was effective and whether or not another one is needed.

Katie

05-06-2017, 10:09 PM

The plants are all gone by now. They got their paycheck. If you want more proof just check how the day the turtles were revealed in that toy fair pic was the most active day in drome history for awhile. TONS of new users poured onto the forums.

Which leads me to another conclusion- that "leak" was not a leak.

Ya don't say! You mean to tell me that THE DAY some new turtles info came out we had LOTS of people come here and...interact? You're kidding! It's like they were trying to find out more info and just found this place or something. Weeeeeird

I don't know why fresh new info coming out would make anyone want to try and find out more information on that thing, especially if they were out if the loop on it and had nostalgic childhood feelings for said thing.

snake

05-06-2017, 10:13 PM

Ya don't say! You mean to tell me that THE DAY some new turtles info came out we had LOTS of people come here and...interact? You're kidding! It's like they were trying to find out more info and just found this place or something. Weeeeeird

I don't know why fresh new info coming out would make anyone want to try and find out more information on that thing, especially if they were out if the loop on it and had nostalgic childhood feelings for said thing.

Except it was literally a blurry photo that was leaked online. I know you have a hateboner for me, but c'mon. I'd understand if a teaser trailer was posted, but hundreds of people flocking to the forums after a grainy toy fair photo showing the new designs popped up? And those same people DEFENDING said designs?

You're off your meds, Kate.

FredWolfLeonardo

05-06-2017, 10:51 PM

I predict a massive influx of plants when the toys/concept art of the 2018 show are revealed, followed by an even bigger community of them when the next series of tmnt films are released.

They will all boast about this new "radical" and "cool" era of tmnt trumping everything before it, only to vanish into the shadows when the new show and films will not be very popular.

snake

05-06-2017, 11:08 PM

I doubt it. The only reason plants were needed were because the film already had a bad rep among fans. They were essentially damage control.

FredWolfLeonardo

05-06-2017, 11:21 PM

Well tmnts reputation isnt the best as of now as a whole, 95% due to the PD films which is what the general public immediately recognizes when thinking turtles.

Too early to speak now, but Im guessing when the design/concept art is revealed for rise: that the drome is gonna respond to it negatively. Thats when the plants will come in, trying to convince that this will be the best era of tmnt ever.

snake

05-06-2017, 11:24 PM

Well tmnts reputation isnt the best as of now as a whole, 95% due to the PD films which is what the general public immediately recognizes when thinking turtles.

Not true in the slightest. All the casuals I've met are stuck on the OT and have either disliked PD or thought it was just "okay".

plastroncafe

05-06-2017, 11:44 PM

I predict a massive influx of plants when the toys/concept art of the 2018 show are revealed, followed by an even bigger community of them when the next series of tmnt films are released.

They will all boast about this new "radical" and "cool" era of tmnt trumping everything before it, only to vanish into the shadows when the new show and films will not be very popular.

And? So what?
I guess...I'm just puzzled why this matters.
Let them get their payday and move on.

And that still doesn't make much sense. Assuming the target demographic are mostly kids, what good would coming here of all places and posting be? What would they accomplish?

I swear, whoever comes up with those ideas obviously don't think them through and are just plain 'ol stupid.

plastroncafe

05-06-2017, 11:57 PM

And that still doesn't make much sense. Assuming the target demographic are mostly kids, what good would coming here of all places and posting be? What would they accomplish?

I swear, whoever comes up with those ideas obviously don't think them through and are just plain 'ol stupid.

Dude, from where I'm sitting marketing as a field doesn't make much sense.

But buzz is buzz, even if it's negative buzz.

Andrew NDB

05-07-2017, 04:43 AM

And that still doesn't make much sense. Assuming the target demographic are mostly kids, what good would coming here of all places and posting be? What would they accomplish?

I swear, whoever comes up with those ideas obviously don't think them through and are just plain 'ol stupid.

It makes a ton of sense. The only reason this was touted as the big, loud and dumb Bebop and Rocksteady and Krang movie (as the TV spots told us "everything a fan would want") was to appeal to... us. To reel in the 30s people who they think have been waiting for such a thing, and bringing our kids to the massacre.

100 million dollar marketing budget, you figure out the angles and canvas the field.

plastroncafe

05-07-2017, 09:23 AM

It makes a ton of sense. The only reason this was touted as the big, loud and dumb Bebop and Rocksteady and Krang movie (as the TV spots told us "everything a fan would want") was to appeal to... us. To reel in the 30s people who they think have been waiting for such a thing, and bringing our kids to the massacre.

100 million dollar marketing budget, you figure out the angles and canvas the field.

It makes sense to people who are crap at their jobs.

Katie

05-07-2017, 10:24 AM

Except it was literally a blurry photo that was leaked online. I know you have a hateboner for me, but c'mon. I'd understand if a teaser trailer was posted, but hundreds of people flocking to the forums after a grainy toy fair photo showing the new designs popped up? And those same people DEFENDING said designs?

You're off your meds, Kate.

I don't have a "hateboner" for anyone. I found your tinfoil hat suspicions a little rediculous and expressed that opinion.

Vegita-San

05-07-2017, 10:39 AM

Except it was literally a blurry photo that was leaked online. I'd understand if a teaser trailer was posted, but hundreds of people flocking to the forums after a grainy toy fair photo showing the new designs popped up? And those same people DEFENDING said designs?
.

please keep the insults out of this thread please :).

but if even 20 people joined the forum on one day a 'leaked' photo just happened to pop up...i'd consider that suspicious myself.

especially if it never happened before for other things considered 'event news'.

Vegita-San

05-07-2017, 10:45 AM

It makes a ton of sense. The only reason this was touted as the big, loud and dumb Bebop and Rocksteady and Krang movie (as the TV spots told us "everything a fan would want") was to appeal to... us. To reel in the 30s people who they think have been waiting for such a thing, and bringing our kids to the massacre.

100 million dollar marketing budget, you figure out the angles and canvas the field.

In a sense, we HAVE been waiting for such a thing.

and for the most part, we got it with Turtles Forever. it's done. finished, and was better than we could have hoped for.

What the PD people THOUGHT They where giving us, is what THEY thought we wanted. done THEIR way, with no knowledge of the characters, and then they where confused as to why most long term fans seemed to still hate it ;o).

THEN the plants came in :).

Studios these days don't really need to be very smart when people will defend mediocre work even without plants. They probably figured it was worth an expense if they could convince even half the people who didn't like the movie to give it a chance.

snake

05-07-2017, 12:30 PM

please keep the insults out of this thread please :).

ok mod

I don't have a "hateboner" for anyone. I found your tinfoil hat suspicions a little rediculous and expressed that opinion.

You really can't fathom that studios would have viral marketers going around? It's a damn good way to promote something and it DOES exist.

Coola Yagami

05-07-2017, 12:46 PM

What the PD people THOUGHT They where giving us, is what THEY thought we wanted. done THEIR way, with no knowledge of the characters, and then they where confused as to why most long term fans seemed to still hate it ;o).

THEN the plants came in :).

Studios these days don't really need to be very smart when people will defend mediocre work even without plants. They probably figured it was worth an expense if they could convince even half the people who didn't like the movie to give it a chance.

Totally agree with this. The worst part is, they do the movie the wrong way and instead of blaming themselves or thinking 'what if we made them more bad ass and more like the source material' they just shrug and say 'I guess Ninja Turtles just isn't marketable' and pull the plug on the whole thing and we wait 10 more years for someone else to have a crack at it.

That's the biggest problem with the Hollywood execs. It's never their fault in their minds. Their ideas are not dumb, we are. It's either their way in whatever they think is right..... or 'oh well, I guess noone really likes 'insert franchise name here', pull the plug.

BubblyShell22

05-07-2017, 04:02 PM

Yep, they aren't going to blame themselves for messing up and will just chalk it up to the fans and how they didn't react well enough despite everyone praising the thing to death and trying to convince others that it's the best thing since sliced bread even when it isn't. And thinking back on things, I do believe there were some plants here on the boards by their attitudes whenever anyone would act negative towards the movies in any way.

Vegita-San

05-07-2017, 04:11 PM

usually with an attack against the person expressing that 'hateful' opinion against the movie itself.

almost as if they fear loosing their job if they don't attack the person rather than the opinion ;o).

plastroncafe

05-07-2017, 04:33 PM

usually with an attack against the person expressing that 'hateful' opinion against the movie itself.

almost as if they fear loosing their job if they don't attack the person rather than the opinion ;o).

Is the person expressing a negative opinion?
Or s#itposting?
Because the latter is often confused with the former.

And...I highly doubt any intern slated with joining forums in order to generate buzz are really being paid commission.

BubblyShell22

05-07-2017, 06:20 PM

Maybe not, but there were some people who were out and out rude to those who didn't like the movie. Not everyone is going to be respectful of a differing opinion.

Vegita-San

05-07-2017, 06:30 PM

yep, and there's no reason to be outright confrontational if you don't have to be.

and if they where new rude posters....plant suspicions go up :)

Katie

05-07-2017, 09:52 PM

ok mod

You really can't fathom that studios would have viral marketers going around? It's a damn good way to promote something and it DOES exist.

I have a degree in marketing so I do understand the concepts, yes. We learned that social media is a good tool. As in Facebook and Twitter. No one dumps money into online forums as a marketing strategy. Facebook? Yeah. But there's zero money in marketing and thats why I'm a risk manager for a bank ;)

My 2 cents is that probably more than half are curious newcomers that get riled by old time forum dwellers and the rest ard trolls baiting the hardcore fans for the LOLs.

People never can learn to ignore stuff and take the bait.

FredWolfLeonardo

05-07-2017, 09:57 PM

I don't think the plants were spending any money on these forums, just logging in for free and talking good about the PD films a few times every day to get the forum members to take their children and go and see the film.

snake

05-07-2017, 10:43 PM

I have a degree in marketing so I do understand the concepts, yes. We learned that social media is a good tool. As in Facebook and Twitter. No one dumps money into online forums as a marketing strategy. Facebook? Yeah. But there's zero money in marketing and thats why I'm a risk manager for a bank ;)

.

Right, you work for a bank and somehow understand how the entertainment industry works to the point of declaring that absolutely no company would use an online forum to promote a product.

ProactiveMan

05-08-2017, 01:45 AM

I have a degree in marketing so I do understand the concepts, yes. We learned that social media is a good tool. As in Facebook and Twitter. No one dumps money into online forums as a marketing strategy. Facebook? Yeah. But there's zero money in marketing and thats why I'm a risk manager for a bank ;)

My 2 cents is that probably more than half are curious newcomers that get riled by old time forum dwellers and the rest ard trolls baiting the hardcore fans for the LOLs.

People never can learn to ignore stuff and take the bait.

I'll defer to your expertise in marketing theory, but as someone who has worked under and alongside marketing people for 11 years I can say that they don't allways make good and rational decisions. A lot of people work in marketing without having any actual marketing credentials too, and there's a lot of shooting from the hip.

You're probably right about the wisdom of this kind of guerrilla astroturfing, but there are documented cases of this happening. Check out the Driver 3 scandal. There was an agency involved in that who listed forum infiltration as one of their specialties.

Vegita-San

05-08-2017, 04:21 AM

in that case, why is it so hard to believe that they'd offer 'package deals?'

charge for facebook and twitter, and throw in message boards for free? give that 'less important stuff' to plant trainees :)

Katie

05-08-2017, 05:53 AM

I'm guessing that at one point, before facebook, twitter, instagram, and whatever, trying to do promotion on forums was something that was more prominent. However, the goal in viral promotion is to get people to actually see your campaign and share it. That isn't going to be on a fan forum.

Look at this place. Everyone here already knows about the Turtles, already has an opinion about them, and will likely consume any new Turtles media without proding at least once. It's a waste of time to deal with superfans. I would expect that the goal is to get "casuals" and kids excited for new Turtles media.

Not too many if those hanging out on fan forums.

And snake, you can think what you want about me, I don't give a rip, but if I was such a "plant" and so in on the industry, wouldn't I be all over the movie forums here? I couldn't care less about all the industry bullsh!t about movies. I just go watch stuff occasionally and I either like it or don't.

plastroncafe

05-08-2017, 08:17 AM

Places like this one aren't welcome to newcomers or outsiders.
The only reason someone would bother to come here is to try and use it for some sort of social collateral, not to change minds.

Vegita-San

05-08-2017, 08:31 AM

looking at a few posts from this page alone, a few people joined from 2009 onward and have almost a thousand posts already.

i would say only the die hards found this place early on it's existence and stuck around for that long. everyone else found it later, or decided to check it out later.

or finally decided talking turtles was worth putting up with this places reputation as being a hard butt tough as nails don't come in with a soft shoulder place :).

i just find it interesting that people are willing to admit that it happens on facebook and youtube and other places, but are hard lined at the fact that it can't possibly happen on message boards anymore.

CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy

05-08-2017, 08:34 AM

or finally decided talking turtles was worth putting up with this places reputation as being a hard butt tough as nails don't come in with a soft shoulder place.

You just described the internet. All of it. Or at least anything with a comment section.

Vegita-San

05-08-2017, 08:35 AM

You just described the internet. All of it. Or at least anything with a comment section.